The UK’s Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has continued its tirade against the government’s proposed new singular gambling tax, quoting a survey in which two thirds of people said the move would aid the illegal market.
The BGC commissioned YouGov to conduct a probe of punters’ thoughts on government plans for a new tax framework for remote gambling which would use a single tax, called remote gaming duty, rather than the current three-banded rate system.
The trade body has insisted the move would harm the future of horse racing if the sport became more expensive because of an increased tax burden on betting companies.
Sixty-five per cent of respondents to the survey said the new tax would make people turn to the illegal market.
The government said in its publication of the consultation on the tax changes that it does not believe that UK gambling tax, as currently structured, is consistent with the government’s objective of “tax simplification and modernisation.”
Read more: BGC calls on UK government to visit betting shops
